National Weather Service faces hurricane season with less experienced staff, missing data [View all]
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Source: CBS News
July 6, 2026 / 6:00 AM EDT
The National Weather Service is hiring to fill hundreds of predominantly entry-level positions, more than a year after losing about 15% of its staff due to sweeping job cuts and buyouts ordered by the Trump administration. Veteran meteorologists are cautiously optimistic about how an influx of workers could benefit the agency as storm season gets underway — and as people in the industry say vacancies may be impeding the collection of data that many see as vital for predicting extreme weather.
But the weather service's focus on recruiting early career scientists, as its job postings advertise, raises concerns for some former employees who believe their relative lack of experience could be reflected in the nation's forecasts, especially without more knowledgeable staff around to help train them.
"Obviously, people retiring and new people coming up is a natural part of any business or agency," said Alan Gerard, a meteorologist who worked for 35 years at the weather service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, before retiring early last year. "But it's meant to be done in an organized process, where the new people coming in have the benefit of working for a period with people who are experienced and can help train them and build up their expertise."
Hurricane season started on June 1, overlapping with spring and summer months when tornadoes, flash flooding and wildfire outbreaks typically peak in the United States. For forecasters, it's one of the busiest and most critical periods of the year.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-weather-service-hurricane-season-less-experienced-staff-missing-data/
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